Cricket: IPL staying in India, says Modi

IPL boss Lalit Modi. Photo / AP

New Zealand's top cricketers face tough decisions in coming weeks after Indian Premier League (IPL) boss Lalit Modi confirmed next month's tournament would not be shifting countries despite terrorist threats.

Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor trained with their New Zealand teammates in Wellington today for Friday's Twenty20 match against Australia, a day after New Zealand Cricket Players' Association (CPA) boss Heath Mills outlined an independent security report that an al Qaeda threat against the IPL was "real and credible".

While the players are free to make their own decisions as independent contractors, the report raised the prospect that New Zealand, Australian, English and South African players would be advised against attending the lucrative tournament scheduled to start on March 12.

But Modi was defiant overnight, saying there would not be a repeat of last year when the tournament was shifted to South Africa due to security fears.

"We are going to have the tournament in India. I can't see any reason why we should move it at this point in time. The media is reacting to every fringe group saying security is a problem," Modi told the BBC.

Mills yesterday confirmed the grave concerns of the players' associations from New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa after a report by independent security consultant Reg Dickason.

"There have been (al Qaeda) threats against cities in India, and clearly a direct threat against the event," Mills said.

"A combination of those and our lack of confidence in security management plans have led us to having to ask some questions of the IPL and see whether they can alleviate those concerns."

Mills said the major worry was the tournament was played across 12 cities and 12 police jurisdictions throughout India, making security arrangements highly complex.

Modi insisted security would be "top notch" and plans were being upgraded on a daily basis.

"Nobody in the world can safeguard the safety of the players in any tournament. All we have to do is ensure we are putting on the best security. Safety is paramount to us and we are working with the national and state governments to ensure we have good security in place."

Bond was signed on a US$750,000 ($1.07 million) deal and is available for nearly the entire IPL because his involvement in New Zealand's series against Australia ends after the final one-dayer on March 13.

Bond, married with a young family, was intent on not jumping to a decision.

"It's a month down the track and all I've focused on is this series. I'll let all the stuff that's happened behind the scenes take care of itself. A month's a long time and I'll have to make a decision when the time comes up," he said.

Complicating matters is the potential unfavourable response from IPL bosses and the franchises if contracted players withdrew.

Said Modi: "This is an Indian tournament, we have the key Indian players and only a few international players. We have no worries at all. You have to understand that the market for us is India. It's not only dependent on foreign players, although they are part of it," Modi said.

"The tournament is a huge success - we have a huge credibility, we have the top 200 players in the world. The heavens aren't going to fall if that happens."

Oram will also be available after the fifth one-dayer against Australia while Vettori, Taylor and McCullum will not be free to line up until after the second test against Australia in Hamilton on March 27-31.

Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming is a coach at Chennai Super Kings, while Scott Styris is on the books of Deccan Chargers but failed to make their 23-man squad.

- NZPA